Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1887-09-13
on THE ROAD.
CHICAGO, Sept. Sth, =

MR.. EDITOR
Pursuant to my promise given you
when | met you in Baltimore re-
Gently / will send you line from
this great caravansary. Taking the
b. q o. Limited" on the morning
after | saw you, | was waited to
Washington almost as if by a breeze.
Up the metropolitan branch we
speed as on the wings of the wind
until we reach Harpers Ferry. To
one who knew Montgomery county
before the Railroad ran through it
the picture now presented is like
that of the lean and the fat man as
shown in the patent medicine ad-
vertsing-thc one before and the
other after taking the medicine.
But as this is so near home your
readers will not be interested in it.
Nor will they be interested in John
Browns fort and the other historic
spots at Harper's Ferry. When
one sees the ripping water of the
Shenandoah here mingling with the
waters of The Potomac, he may
almost imagine it was the "laugh-
ing water" that Longfellow wrote
of in "IIianatha. Now up the sin
uous courses of the Potomac we
wend our uneven way and soon the
dusky smoke of Cumberland is seen
In the distance. Anon We hear the
sound twenty minutes for dinner
and find ourselves seated in the spa
cious dining room Of The Queen
City Hotel Zone of the b. u O's
Hotels) to a bill of fare equal to that
of Barnum's or the Carrollton.
Again with a whistle and snort we
dash off aud soon find ourselves at
Piedmont, and here we see the
grimy miuers vending their ways TO
and from the mines. From here east
a railroad runs to the mines of Lo-
naconing, Frostburg etc. Up the
grade from Piedmont to Altamont
seventeen miles the grade is 116
feet to the mile,and though we have
an engine front aud rear our train
that has been running at lighting
speed seems tired, but the summit
is soon reached and We go again
over the level plateau. as if our iron
horse had been refreshed. Oakland
(well namely is soon reached and
passed and is indeed delightful
spot to the eye. Deer Park soon
greets our vision and while most
of the summer birds have fitted
many stately men, lovely women and
beautiful children are at the depot
to see us pass. Now we are at
ssCranberry Summit" and now the
Cheat mountain and river; as we
whirl around the curves the cars
careen as if they would dash US into
the ripping stream below. And
such scenery. Wild, weird, grand
and enchanting. A precipice tow
ers above us, an abyss, with the rip
ling aud sun,kissed waters of the
Cheat yawns below. Across the
river the mounatin inclines from
the river bank below and towers in
the air above us. The foliage is not
yet in the ''sere aud yellow leaf, but
enough of the boar frost has
touched the trees to make them
show the varied tints of autumn,
the delicate corn color, the golden
yellow, the crimson red, intermin-
gle with the evergreen. The great
gigantic powders hold their shaggy
heads aloft, and the ripping river
with its silver sheen and
in its glee, seems to say
Men may come and men may go But
60 on forever.
Poesy cannot sing nor artists
brush depict the beauty of the scene.
lis more beautiful than | can tell.
But the contrast comes too soon
We are now in the CRIME and smoke
Of the mines. Train after train
laden with black diamonds rush